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Two persons died after being struck by a lightning at Madhuban in Bode Basain Municipality-3, Saptari.

The deceased have been identified as Ram Ji Yadav (56) and Satya Narayan Yadav (60). 

Inspector Balister Singh of the Area Police Office,  Kadarbona said that the incident occurred when they had gone to graze the cattle.

The Indian rupee hit a record low against the US dollar on Thursday as the relentless surge in global crude oil prices raised concerns about a sustained rise in imported inflation, while choppy domestic shares also hurt, Reuters reported.

The partially convertible rupee was trading at 77.79/80 per dollar after touching a record low of 77.81. The previous low of 77.7975 was touched on May 17.

"There is possibly some bit of dollar selling by the central bank that is there, but they can only prevent day to day volatility, the direction for the rupee is clearly lower," a senior trader at a foreign bank said.

The central bank has time and again reiterated that it only intervenes to arrest extreme volatility in the currency but does not target any specific levels.

Traders said the rupee could eventually weaken towards 79/dollar levels by end of fiscal year 2022/23 but the fall could be accelerated by firm crude oil prices, according to Reuters.

Oil prices held firm near 13-week highs on Thursday after China reported stronger-than-expected exports in May, although new Shanghai lockdown restrictions capped gains.

India imports nearly 85% of its oil requirements and high crude tends to push up domestic inflation while also widening the country's trade and current account deficits.

Indian shares extended losses to a fifth session as investors worried that aggressive policy tightening by central banks could stifle global economic growth. 

RBI raised its key repo rate by 50 basis points on Wednesday.

Foreign funds have sold stocks worth more than $23 billion so far in 2022 while they are net sellers of $2.1 billion in debt, Reuters reported.

Bearish bets on Asian currencies eased on signs that China's economic pain may abate with the relaxation of COVID-19 curbs, but analysts were still wary of future lockdowns and the direction of U.S. monetary policy, a Reuters poll last week showed.

"Further depreciation in the rupee will be seen if levels around 77.80 start to be breached consistently. This will open targets of 78.25 for the rupee," currency analysts at Emkay Global wrote in a note, according to Reuters.

British tourist Richard McSorley walked past a stinking heap of garbage in Nepal's capital Kathmandu on Thursday, reminiscing the much cleaner temple-studded city he had visited decades ago for the first time, Reuters reported.

"If I was a new tourist I would be disgusted," the 48-year-old told Reuters, pointing to a pile of trash by the side of a street in Kathmandu, where the government is keen to draw more tourists after the country's cash-strapped economy was battered by the COVID-19 pandemic.

For weeks, proper disposal of waste has become a chronic problem in the hill-ringed city after attempts to dump garbage in a small landfill site at a village outside Kathmandu was met with resistance from local residents.

Biswas Dhungana, a protester at the dumping site in Bancharedanda, said villagers would not allow trucks loaded with trash to enter, alleging authorities had done little to provide infrastructure and manage garbage.

"We have been forced to live like pigs in yucky conditions for several years as the government has not done anything to keep the village clean," Dhungana told Reuters.

On Wednesday, hundreds of villagers including women and children erected a barrier of rocks on the road to Bancharedanda and forced about 200 trucks laden with Kathmandu's garbage to return without dumping their load, according to Reuters.

The protesters pelted stones from hill tops injuring three police personnel, who fired tear gas shells to break up the protests, three witnesses said.

Sunil Lamsal, an official overseeing the handling of the Kathmandu's trash, said he was working to address the concerns raised by Bancharedanda residents as soon as possible.

"We are coordinating with the protesters and will invite them for talks to resolve the problem," Lamsal said.

But the trash piles on Kathmandu's streets are steadily growing, adding to the angst of residents.

"I am fed up with the authorities who can't even keep the city clean," Kathmandu resident Laloo Magar said. "It is a shame... a disgrace."

Nepal reported 22 new Covid-19 cases on Thursday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 655 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which 12 returned positive. Likewise, 1, 098 people underwent antigen tests, of which 10 were tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of the virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that nine infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 112 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) plunged by 17. 64 points to close at 2,062.80 points on Thursday.

Similarly, the sensitive index dropped by 4. 01 points to close at 396. 36 points.

A total of 4,156,104 units of the shares of 229 companies were traded for Rs 1. 47 billion.

At the end of the day, the total market capitalization stood at Rs 2. 93 trillion.

US Army’s Pacific Commanding General Charles Flynn arrived in Kathmandu on a four-day visit to Nepal on Thursday.

Lieutenant General Bal Krishna Karki welcomed him at the Tribhuvan International Airport.

During his visit to Nepal, he is scheduled to meet Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Parbhu Ram Sharma on Friday. He will also be meeting Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba the same day.

The top US Army official has arrived in Nepal at a time when CoAS Sharma and Prime Minister Deuba are preparing to fly to the United States.

Actor Paul Shah, who was arrested on the rape charge, now has to wait for the verdict after the Pokhara High Court upheld the district court’s decision to remand him to judicial custody.

Though he can move the Supreme Court against the decision of the district and high court, Shah’s lawyer said that they have decided to wait for the verdict as it would take time to move the apex court.

The 32-year-old actor, who has been accused of raping a minor girl, turned himself in to police on February 27.

A week later, the Tanahun District Court sent actor Shah to judicial custody on the rape charge for further investigation.

A single bench of Tanahun District Court Judge Harish Chandra Dhungana had issued an order to send Shah to judicial custody.

Based on the complaint filed by a 17-year-old singer, the District Attorney’s Office had filed a case against Shah at Tanahun District Court seeking 14 years of imprisonment.

Later, the issue took a twist after the minor singer, who had filed a complaint accusing Shah of raping her, changed her statement at the Tanahun District Court.

The girl said that she had not been raped as claimed by her earlier. She said that the information she stated while filing the complaint was false.

Police have arrested a man in possession of 516. 5 gram gold from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) on Thursday.

The arrestee has been identified as Jitendra Kumar Yadav of Dhanusha.

He landed at the Tribhuvan International Airport from Qatar boarding a flight of Qatar Airlines at 9: 45 am today.

TIA Customs Office Chief Mahesh Bhattarai said that Yadav was arrested with the gold hidden inside his underwear during a regular security check.

Police said that they are looking into the case.